Government wins vote on National Insurance hike September 8, 2021 The Prime Minister has won a vote to raise National Insurance for workers and employers to fund NHS and social care costs. The government won the vote by 319 to 248 votes after Boris Johnson said the 1.25 percentage point increase would raise £12bn a year. Opposition MPs criticised the government for breaking a manifesto [...]
Leaked messages: Boris Johnson trying to cut Nicola Sturgeon out of Cop26 summit September 5, 2021 No10 is seeking to cut Nicola Sturgeon out of the Cop26 summit to prevent her using it as “an advert for an independence campaign”, according to leaked messages. Advisers at No 10 and the Cabinet Office have been seeking to side-line the role of Scotland’s First Minster in the global gathering, The Independent reported. According [...]
Scottish independence: UK minister says Scots could have a second referendum if backed by 60 per cent August 27, 2021 Scots could have a second independence referendum if polling consistently shows support for one at 60 per cent, according to the UK’s Scotland secretary. In the first time a minister has hinted at what the bar could be for a fresh vote, Alister Jack told Politico: “If you consistently saw 60 percent of the population [...]
Flatgate: Tory donor Lord Brownlow transferred £52k to pay for Boris Johnson’s lavish Downing Street renovations August 26, 2021 It has appeared that a Conservative Party donor coughed up more than £52,000 to pay for some of the costs of Boris Johnson’s lavish renovations to his Downing Street residence, according to party accounts. The refurbishments to the flat in No 11 sparked sustained scrutiny of Johnson’s finances, with the works vastly exceeding the £30,000 [...]
Afghanistan: G7 leaders prepare for emergency meeting as evacuation deadline looms August 24, 2021 G7 leaders are under pressure to present a united front at an emergency meeting this afternoon on the crisis in Afghanistan. Leaders of the UK, US, Canada, France, Italy, Germany and Japan are to discuss how to coordinate their response to the crisis. The online talks chaired by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will also [...]
Johnson meets with Lukashenko’s opposition after disputed election August 3, 2021 Prime minister Boris Johnson met with the leader of the Belarusian opposition party today as tension between the country, its people and the rest of Europe swells. Meeting at Downing Street earlier today, Johnson condemned current leader Alexander Lukashenko’s regime and persecution of opposition voices like Svetlana Tikhanovskaya and her husband. Tikhanovskaya ran as the [...]
Rishi Sunak warns Boris Johnson travel restrictions are ‘out of step’ August 1, 2021 The Chancellor has warned Boris Johnson that the UK’s travel restrictions are “out of step” with its international rivals as he pushes for holiday rules to be relaxed, according to reports. The Sunday Times reports today that Rishi Sunak has written to the Prime Minister about the damage that the current border rules are doing [...]
Tory poll lead collapses amid tax hike revolt July 24, 2021 The Conservative Party’s lead in the polls has slumped to its lowest in more than six months as Prime Minister Boris Johnson braces for a revolt over tax rises. The Tory margin over Labour has fallen from 13 percentage points to just four, according to a Yougov survey conducted this week for the Times. The [...]
Who is lying? Downing Street flatly denies Cummings claim Boris Johnson insisted on seeing Queen early in pandemic July 20, 2021 Downing Street this afternoon flatly denied Dominic Cummings’ claim that Boris Johnson wanted to visit the Queen early in the pandemic despite coronavirus having hit No 10. The former chief aide in No 10 alleged that he had to convince the Prime Minister out of visiting her by warning of the potentially grave consequences. But [...]
Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak pinged by NHS Test and Trace but no need to isolate July 18, 2021 Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak have been contacted by NHS Test and Trace as contacts of someone who has tested positive for Covid but will be participating in a daily contact testing pilot to allow them to continue to work from Downing Street, No 10 has said. The announcement follows the disclosure on Saturday that [...]